Businesses received fines for unfair trade practices. According to the Ministry of Justice, a Chinese owned cables company named Huasheng Cables Manufacturing PLC was fined Birr 17.7 million for manufacturing substandard electrical cables and providing misleading information to consumers. On the other hand, an entity called Sehima Jemal Se’id was fined Birr 424,000 for importing and selling counterfeit beauty products.

The fines were imposed for violating Article 8 of the Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Proclamation No. 813/2013. The Proclamation prohibits unfair business practices, such as misleading advertisements, selling counterfeit goods, and engaging in predatory pricing.

Huasheng Cables was found to have misled consumers by claiming that its electrical cables met Ethiopian standards while Sehima Jemal Se’id was found to have imported and sold counterfeit beauty products that were not manufactured by the brand names they were labeled with. They were found guilty of unfair business competitions before a court of law and fined in accordance with article 42/3 of the Proclamation.

Source: Fana BC